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Is This What is Known as "Bio-Film"?

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You can't see it when looking head-on at the front aquarium pane, but when I, say, go down the stairs that are adjacent to the area the tank is in and look through the side pane to view the front, I can see a pretty thick film covering the inside walls of the front glass pane and even the sides...I can also make out where the fish have "rubbed" against it, making patterns and indentations in the slab of film, as well as where my hand cut through it during maintenance or something....however, this isn't visible from just looking head on at the tank, and it doesn't appear as "algae" to me...

Is this in fact algae of some kind, and can it be left alone...or does it need to be scraped off? Is this from the fish's slime coats? As I said, it's a nearly clear film that can only be seen from certain angles when you look at different panes of glass of the aquarium...

Yup, that's biofilm. Biofilm just is the layer of Bacteria and gunk that builds up on all surfaces in an aquarium. It isn't harmful and totally natural. In fact the bacteria forming biofilm likely are the same nitrifying ones that live in your filter and keep your fish alive. Snails and any with with a sucker mouth will take care of it when it gets a bit heavy, as well as an algae magnet.

So, could this be an indication of my tank becoming "mature" and somewhat healthy? Should I just leave the film alone? I don't want to put any cats or scavengers (not even snails to be honest) that may "eat" this stuff in the tank because I'm keeping goldfish...

So, could this be an indication of my tank becoming "mature" and somewhat healthy? Should I just leave the film alone? I don't want to put any cats or scavengers (not even snails to be honest) that may "eat" this stuff in the tank because I'm keeping goldfish...

I usually wipe the glass on the front and sides, so it doesn't ruin the viewing of the tank. I just let it build up on the back. I use a sponge for wiping for the glass, and a plastic card for getting rid of hard to remove algae spots. Good source of free plastic cards is at your local grocery store, a few here have those membership reward cards free for the taking.

I usually wipe the glass on the front and sides, so it doesn't ruin the viewing of the tank. I just let it build up on the back. I use a sponge for wiping for the glass, and a plastic card for getting rid of hard to remove algae spots. Good source of free plastic cards is at your local grocery store, a few here have those membership reward cards free for the taking.

When viewing the tank head-on, I do not get ANY blockage of view; the film buildup is only when you look at the front pane from certain side angles in which you could see it on the inside of that front pane...